


Zechariah Gives The Best Hugs

by Kakasakufangirl



Category: Zoophobia (Webcomic)
Genre: Animal Instincts, Co-workers, F/M, Hugs, Implied Relationships, Interspecies Relationship(s), Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Self-Doubt, Talking Animals, Trust Issues, Zoophobia - Freeform, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 20:56:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6300109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kakasakufangirl/pseuds/Kakasakufangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cameron has just gotten used to the crazy and wacky things that have happened in her life during the past few months. She tried to live a normal and regular life alongside her supernatural friends who speak, eat, walk and act like humans.</p>
<p>She's still has a long way to go before she can completely get used to the fact that a cheetah helps runs the school at which she works at. On the lighter side of the topic, none of the Safe Heaven community have given her any reason to think that they might hurt her, she reluctantly continues her day to day schedule.</p>
<p>"Zech?" Her voice called out to him.</p>
<p>"Yes Miss. Cameron?" He listened attentively as his back was to her, his paws lightly strumming through a cabinet. Even though he wasn't facing her she could tell he was listing to every word she said.</p>
<p>"Do you...like me?" It took her every bone in her body not to laugh at his dumbstruck expression as he whipped around and gave her a critical look.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zechariah Gives The Best Hugs

**Author's Note:**

> This could be read as a platonic relationship or a romantic one, whichever one floats your boat. Toots your horn. Wrangles the old chicken. Kick starts your heart. Flies your plane.
> 
> Oh just ignore me already and get to the story.

Camreon was never one to judge a book by it's cover but over the past few weeks the teenagers at Zoo-Phoenix Academy have given her nothing but problems. They've been arguing with their teacher's about seeing a consular for utmost the whole time she had been here. Most of the staff members have stated that they the teenagers are just shy and scared of her since she's human. She shoulder be more afraid of them than they are of her.

Vampires, animals, werewolfs, shifters, demons, sirens, banshees, reapers, dragons and other types of supernatural creatures. While she hasn't met the werewolfs, sirens, banshees and dragons yet, she still prefers to stir far away from any animal that has teeth and claws at least some of them.

Although she's met some of the students from Jackie's drama class and she like most of them, some of them still give her the creeps. Cameron has tired to stay calm when she's trapped in a room with them or their discussing a personal issue but sometimes she can't help it.

Their eyes glow a bright intense color and they see right down into her soul, feeding off of her fear. They smell the sweat that beams across her skin as she just sits there like prey, waiting to be devoured. Their sharpened teeth shine as the curve of them point directly towards her flesh. As their sessions continue to go on Cam starts to feel trapped. The only way out is past the preditor that is sitting right in front of the exit.

It's hard for her to just sit there; to talk to them and concentrate on giving them the right advice that could potentially help them. She has to listen to them explain how they feel about themselves, others and their current troubling situation. Then after their done she explains to them the best way to cope with it or expel it.

Sometimes she worries she'll say the wrong thing and that it will make them doubt her of her job; other times she thinks if she says something that they don't like then they'll just kill her.

It never happens. They never try to kill her, she just sits there all bundled up waiting for her inevitable end but it never comes and that's what frustrates her the most. She feels less human and more like a ticking time bomb that would go off in any second.

She feels like sleeping beauty waiting for her prince to come and kiss her awake. Like she's a flower waiting to bloom during the winter or even a turtle that refuses to come out of it's shell because it's afraid of the outside world.

After her current session with Jack she decided to head towards Zech's office. Usually she would just head home and hide in her house until the next day but she didn't want to do this anymore, she felt like talking this out with someone she could trust.

Jackie was a good candidate but she would still be working with the students in the Drama Club for the rest of the afternoon and Cam didn't want to take up all of their time, again. Carrie would also be a good person to sort this out with but the woman, lady lizard-demon cowgirl is too much for her to handle. With the outspoken attitude and deadpan snarker talk; she tries to have a conversation with her every other Friday which usually ends up with them talking about the unicorn skeleton hanging above the mantel.

No. Cameron wanted to talk to the most leveled headed person, animal around and that was Zechariah. The cheetah was the only one who she could speak to that would inadvertently make her feel safer. She still remembers how he let her hug him after her first day being here.

The ginger could remember how panicked and afraid she was of everyone here. She wanted nothing more to do than to grasp the closest person to her which turned out to be Zech. He let her cry into his chest until he couldn't bear to hear her cry anymore. Then when she thought the mammal couldn't be anymore comforting, he took her up to the rooftop of the school and showed her the beautiful fish in the sky.

She loved them, they gave her the sort of peace and serenity that she hadn't felt in a long time. The scenery made being trapped in another dimension that more bearable as she watched them light up the sky. She never did thank Zech for his kindness and levelheadedness.

Thinking back on it now, she could see why Carrie was so cautious of her but coming from her view point, she just woke up in a different world with different species that didn't talk in her world. At least not one where she could understand. It made her feel uneasy.

It's very difficult when you know no one here and nobody could help you in your current situation. All of her family and friends she knew where back on earth where she could never speak, see or touch them again. She could never feel their comforting presence ever. Nothing.

Over time she has come to terms with her predicament and knows that she just has to except it. It will be hard knowing that the only a couple of humans live in a society full of larger more expressive animals.

Cameron sighed as she continued down the hallway towards the office. She looked around and saw the many students who whispered to their friends about how much of a freak the human counselor was. They didn't like her by the dirty and almost patronizing looks they gave her.

She tried to not let the fear slip into her mind and choose to ignore the comments. She could not let them now that she was afraid of them even though she was extremely afraid of them.

They could just break any bone in her body and call it an accident. She heard them talking about how strange and weak humans were. Humans were considered lesser beings to the students of Zoo-Phoenix Academy maybe even the whole dimension. Humans were fragile, she was fragile.

She was pulled out of her thought process as she stood in front of Zech's door. After taking a deep breath she decided to go in. As she reach to open it, the door was swung open by Salvia. The red head quietly bowed towards her before she slowly walked down the hallway.

"Uhhh, bye?" She said as she walked into the office. She turned towards Zech who had an annoyed look on his face. His tail was swiping the air furiously as if someone angered him. As he looked up he retained a calm yet distant look towards her and not his usual comforting face.

"Yes Miss Cameron, how may I help you today?" He asked. His voice held a slight hint of anger in it. It wasn't directed at her but she could tell it might be released soon at the next person who walked in. "Please take a seat."

"Maybe this is a bad time...I'll come back tomorrow." As she turned to leave she heard him call out to her.

"No, I insist. Please excuse me. I've just been informed of some very unfortunate news. Your presence here might be the only thing that calms me down." The cheetah stated in a more controlled manner.

His eyes followed her as she walked in and took a seat. After a couple of weeks of walking in and out of this office she still couldn't help but feel a little uneased about the principal Winston, who silently slurped his cup of tea. The humanoid squid just sat there drinking as his eyes just stared blankly up at them.

She wanted nothing more than to run out the door and back into her own office where she could lock herself in. Cam fought the urge to do so and continued to gaze directly at Zech as she remembered her reason for coming here in the first place.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?" He asked once again. For a second she had to think about what she was going say. Cam felt as if she were wasting his time because he walked around from the desk and began rummaging through a cabinet. "I'm still listening, please do continue."

"Zech?" Her voice called out to him.

"Yes Miss. Cameron?" He listened attentively as his back was to her, his paws lightly strumming through a cabinet. Even though he wasn't facing her she could tell he was listing to every word she said.

"Do you...like me?" It took her every bone in her body not to laugh at his dumbstruck expression as he whipped around and gave her a critical look.

"What makes you ask such a trivial thing? Of course I like you; I respect all creatures equally and I hoped others would do the same." It didn't make her feel any better about her current situation but knowing that at least one person was on her side helped, sort of. "Is someone giving you a hard time? A student, a teacher another faculty member."

Zechariah walked back towards his desk after he had found the file he was looking for. He placed it in his drawer to give Cam the undivided attention that he always did with the faculty.

She raised her hands in defence. "No no it's not like that it's just..." How did she put it a way that she implicates that she feels as if most of the students here don't like her just because she's human and state that she understands why they would think that way.

Cameron calmed her nerves as she spoke. "Okay, so while my current councilor job is helping me get over this whole animal fear I feel as if some of the students here refuse to confine in me due to my 'race', shall I say? It's okay for them to feel this way, I mean I haven't actually given them a reason to trust me but I wish that they wouldn't judge me before I even try to help them."

She looked up at the vice principal who was actually astonished at her honesty. He seem to have a more conflicting facial expression as he continued to listen.

"I see..." His eyes quickly darted somewhere else as he concentrated on a new object. It gave the ginger enough time to relax in her seat which she hadn't been able to due since she arrived here. "Miss. Cameron, we live in a society that is founded on supernatural beings of another power. For the hundredths of centuries that we've been around we've deal with humans tarnishing and destroying our kind."

"Only in Safe Heaven have we managed a way to succeed in living with no repercussions of doing so. As time has gone on only a few selective humans have past through this place with enough time to accept and adapt to our living arrangement. For some of those humans they are treated with the utmost respect and appreciation that they deserve for the harmony that they have brought on this world. Some of them experience the same treatment that you do today and while I can account for everyone I will however relinquish the most terrifying punishment I can think of if your should no longer feel safe at this school."

His eyes darkened with something she couldn't quite place. She felt blood rush to her face as she silently thanked him for his consideration. "Thanks but I don't think it has reach that level yet."

Cameron averted her eyes from his which he took that as a sign that she didn't want to speak more on the subject. For a while there was nothing said between the the two which was very uncomfortable for the woman as she sat there. Finally Zech said something. "How did you gain this fear of animals, if you don't mind me asking?"

It was a simple question that she could easily answer but every time she thought about that day, her reoccurring dream or should she say nightmare would always pop up in her head. "I-I can't..." She hide her head in shame as she clutched her legs in her hands.

"It's alright Miss Cameron." His voice was soft, gentle even. He never liked to see the woman cry, it made him nauseous and he felt weak as if he could do nothing to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks.

Then he did something he never thought he do again. "Would you like another hug?" He asked. Her head popped up in surprise. She didn't expect him to offer such a vulnerable situation. It's one thing to be forced into a hug, it's another to offer one.

She wiped her tears. "Really?" Her eyes were blurry and she felt as if he would laugh at how easy she was to trick. There was no slyness on his face, only a certain genuine concern hidden under his usual stoic features.

Without saying a word he walked around his desk and began to rub himself up against the female. His head bumped against the bottom of her chin. Then he raised his head to rub against the other side of her cheek which caused a giggle to slip from her lips. His body followed suit as he circled around her. His tail was the last thing to touch her as he sat on the other side of her chair.

When he stopped that's when she attached herself to his chest and buried her fingers into his fur. Normally the action would annoy him greatly bit since Cameron was doing it he didn't mind. In fact, he quite liked it. It made a warm feeling spread through his body as he sat there.

She smiled. It was the right decision to come here and seek out guidance from Zechariah. He was the one she could trust the most and she felt as if he would be the one to give out the best hugs. It made her feel safe and warm. All those feelings of worry and fear kept slipping away. It reminded her of her first day here except last time she practical forced him into a hug.

The cheetah just couldn't help the light purr that erupted from his chest. Zech was sure that she heard it or else she wouldn't have pulled away so quickly. The ginger stared up at him with wide eyes as she began to blush harder from the the act.

"Was that...did you just purr?"

"I'm sorry ma'am I will learn to control myself next time." He scolded himself. He was supposed to be comforting her not adding on to more of her worries. This was highly unacceptable behavior from him and he should know better than to-she didn't seemed be fazed by the action. In fact she was smiling more than cowering away from him in disgust.

"No it's fine. Cute even." As she said that she placed her hand back on his fluffy chest. Slowly her hand rubbed the furry spot which caused another involuntary purr to escape his mouth. She looked back up at him with a small smile.

Suddenly the sound of loud slurping could be heard as they both turned towards Mr. Winston who just sat there sipping at his tea and looking back and forth in between the two. Then the creature slowly ducked under his desk while still drinking the beverage. He said nothing and neither did they.


End file.
